World Coronavirus Dispatch: How long can Australia sustain Covid-zero plan?

What you should do if you test positive after vaccination, WHO says Africans 'dangerously exposed' by lack of jabs, and other pandemic-related news across the globe

Women did three times as much Child care as men during pandemic

Child care demands at home skyrocketed during the pandemic, but men and women did not split the burden equally. Women have felt many of the pandemic's worst economic effects, including billions in lost income, in large part due to increased demands on their time at home. Globally, women took on 173 additional hours of unpaid child care last year, compared to 59 additional hours for men, a study released by the Center for Global Development, a poverty non-profit, found. The gap widened in low- and middle-income countries, where women cared for children for more than three times as many hours as men did. In India, the study estimated women took on more than 10 times the burden men did. The study used figures from Unesco and the OECD to measure the number of children home from school and the average time men and women in various countries spent on unpaid childcare before the pandemic. Read here

Let's look at the global statistics

Global infections: 180,002,437

Global deaths: 3,900,401

Vaccine doses administered: 2,766,353,113

Nations with most cases: US (33,590,549), India (30,134,445), Brazil (18,243,483), France (5,826,278), Turkey (5,393,248).

Source: John Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center

Sydney lockdown shows limits of Australia’s Covid-zero strategy

Australia’s so-called “Covid-zero” strategy is under increasing strain, with an outbreak of the delta variant forcing at least half-a-million residents of Sydney into lockdown for a week. The outbreak has climbed to 65 cases, with 22 new locally acquired cases recorded. Sydney’s outbreak is the latest example showing how efforts by Covid-zero nations -- which include Singapore, Hong Kong and China -- to eliminate the virus are now keeping them isolated, even as highly-vaccinated countries such as the US, UK and parts of Europe start to open up. Read here

You’re vaccinated for Covid, and you just tested positive. Now what?

If you are one of the small number of fully vaccinated people who later test positive for Covid-19, what should you do? Vaccines have been highly effective in preventing Covid-19, especially hospitalisation and death, and are generally working as expected, doctors say. The vaccines also reduce the risk of spreading the virus. Although the risk of vaccinated people becoming infected with the virus is low, it can still happen, experts said. A fully vaccinated person who experiences symptoms consistent with Covid-19 should isolate himself from others, the CDC said. People should also inform their health care provider of their positive result. If you leave home to go to the doctor, wear a mask and practice social distancing. Read here

Africans ‘dangerously exposed’ by lack of Covid jabs, says WHO

The World Health Organization has made a new appeal for vaccines for Africa, saying a “fast-surging” third wave of Covid-19 is outpacing efforts to protect populations, “leaving more and more dangerously exposed”. “The third wave is picking up speed, spreading faster, hitting harder. This is incredibly worrying. With rapidly rising case numbers and increasing reports of serious illness, the latest surge threatens to be Africa’s worst yet,” the WHO regional director for Africa, said. African countries have recorded more than 5 million cases and almost 140,000 deaths, though the true numbers are thought to be much higher. Read here